Elemental Towers

(I get to post lots of pictures because I spent most of the semester constructing these damn things.)

Purpose of the towers:

Inspired heavily by the environments found in Ubisoft's Myst games, I wanted to jump up in scale (and off the wall) from my birch trees, which were so enjoyable because I loved the process. I wanted to create self-standing, large-scale 3-D versions of little worlds one would find while exploring in a game like Myst. Unfortunately, I overcomplicated again, and this attempt was pretty much a washout, although I learned a lot of things about what works for my own artistic process. 

I've photographed all of my favorite little details on the towers and posted some of them here. 

AIR

This world would exist in some kind of dune-y, desert-y landscape. There are whirligigs on it that move when the wind blows, and pumice medium giving a sandy, eroded look to the base and parts of the structure. The dowels and huts are naturally-colored, giving the whole thing a kind of bleached, natural feel. There are several platforms with stairs and ladders interlaced between them. Copper wire is wrapped around the dowels to represent the industrial aspect of this world. This tower was influenced by the kingdom in Miyazaki's Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind, and I included decorative, dangly things that could catch the wind like in the movie.

Huts and stairs.

Top of the tower, rope and embedded beads.

Topmost platform

Spiral staircase, suspended bridge in the back.

EARTH

I wanted to simulate growth and tribal structures, hence the crossed sticks and the dangly bits of nature. There are little wooden walkways and cave entrances.

WATER

This world is built out of a vertical, stalactite-like rock formation found in a coastal region. The glass spheres are the water reservoirs, with copper tubing running throughout the structure. There are tiny huts, copper-colored to simulate rusted metal and rock.

Clusters of pearls that would have been taken from giant sea creatures, hung for decoration/spiritual homage.

FIRE

I wanted this world to look hostile and abandoned, kind of like Charn, the world that Jill and Diggory travel to in The Magician's Nephew. This tower was more about process: namely, setting fire to it, letting things burn for extended periods of time, drizzling glass over it and making lots of scorch marks. The platforms and other structures I fabricated were altered or destroyed by the fire.

Glass that air-annealed and cracked when I sprayed it with water, as well as a close-up of the charred dowel.

These huts would be stone. The platform that they're on is nearly burnt away.

My favorite detail of this tower are the areas of clustered amber-colored beads put for decoration.